US Premiere of Hanna Kulenty's Flute Concerto No. 1 (2001) performed at Other Minds 10 at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 2004.

Hanna Kulenty: Flute Concerto No. 1 (2001) US Premiere
Anne La Berge, quarter-tone flute
Parallèle Ensemble, Nicole Paiement, conductor

Winner of the UNESCO Rostrum of Composers (2003), and one of Europes most promising young composers, Hanna Kulentys talent is virtually undiscovered in the US. Often compared in orchestral style to Ligeti or Xenakis, she shares their flair for drama, expressive intensity, and relentless, layered rhythms. Virtuoso flutist La Berges quarter-tone flute sound is as flexible as the human voiceits timeless, indigenous, raw expression is highlighted by Kulentys driving compositional language.

Funded in part by Goethe-institut San Francisco, Gaudeamus Foundation, and Consulate General of the Netherlands, New York.

Flute Concerto No. 1 was inspired by the composer's acquaintance with the remarkable virtuoso flutist Anne La Berge. The extreme possibilities of the quarter-tone Kingma flute played by La Berge inspired Kulenty to write this piece for her with the Dutch wind and percussion ensemble "de ereprijs". As in her other compositions, repetitive elements, glissandi, a single powerful arch and haunting sonorities give her music a compelling emotional intensity. Remarks soloist Anne La Berge writes of the concerto: Kulenty uses the flute as an ensemble leader which is quite different from the traditional role of a concerto soloist. Shes given the performer an opportunity to play the flute in a less conventional way, employing subtle use of tone color, which sometimes blends and sometimes shines above the ensemble. Although the flute writing is very virtuosic, the soloist is still asked to be an essential part of the ensemble voice, rhythmically and harmonically.


This audio is part of the collection: Other Minds Audio Archive
It also belongs to collections: Music & Arts; stream_only

Artist/Composer: Hanna Kulenty
Date: 2004-03-04 00:00:00
Source: Other Minds
Label / Recorded by: Other Minds
Keywords: 20th Century Classical

Creative Commons license: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs

Notes

All Other Minds programs available, with additional print and photo materials, at http://www.radiOM.org.

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Reviewer: Richard_Friedman - - December 15, 2004
Subject: Spectacular
Every flautist should hear this!
--Richard Friedman